2003 News
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26 AUGUST 2003
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services issues final rule
on health care professionals seeking occupational visas
ICHP VisaScreen® certificates are now a requirement to obtain temporary and permanent occupational visas for foreign-educated health care professionals.
On 23 July 2003, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) published the long-awaited final rules required under section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). Under these final rules, foreign-educated health care professionals, such as nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, medical technicians, medical laboratory technologists, speech language pathologists and audiologists who are seeking temporary or permanent occupational visas, as well as those who are seeking NAFTA status, are required to first obtain a CGFNS/ICHP VisaScreen® certificate as part of the visa process. Prior to the final rule, only those health care professionals seeking permanent occupational visas were required to obtain an International Commission on Healthcare Professionals VisaScreen® certificate.
The final rule becomes effective 23 September 2003. However, BCIS will issue a waiver for those seeking temporary visas and NAFTA status for one year.
Section 343 of IIRIRA requires health care professionals successfully complete a screening program prior to receiving an occupational visa, such as the H-1B, H-2B, TN status and permanent (green card) visas. Screening includes an assessment of an applicant’s education to ensure that it is comparable to a U.S. graduate in the same profession; verification that licenses are valid and unencumbered; successful completion of an English language proficiency examination; and, in the case of nurses, verification that the nurse has either earned a CGFNS certificate or passed the NCLEX-RN® (National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses).
The final rule also establishes the process to be used by the BCIS in approving certifying organizations similar to CGFNS and expands the options that can be used to fulfill the English language proficiency examination requirement. The rule names TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) in addition to the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) as acceptable options.
